Americaâ€™s Fastest-Growing Real Estate Company

J.J. McCorvey is a reporter at Inc. magazine, where he covers a wide range of topics, including technology and business research. He has covered metro news for The Detroit News, and his work has been featured in Men's Fitness.

To keep her property appraisal business humming during the downturn, Vicky Thompson shifted its focus to foreclosures. Last year, to keep her employees motivated, she started a vacation contest. Each time staff members did an outstanding job with a client, she gave them a raffle ticket. At the company's holiday party in December, she threw the entries in a box and selected 10 staff members, each of whom could bring a guest, to join her on an all-expenses-paid trip to Mexico's Mayan Riviera. In February, they spent four days snorkeling, sailing, and touring Mayan ruins. Employees are now collecting raffle tickets for a trip to Cancún in 2012. The contest has improved morale, Thompson says, as well as customer service. "We're getting a lot more positive feedback from clients," she says. "Our growth is up tremendously. A lot of that is due to the attitude of our staff."